7th April 2004 has been declared by the United Nations to be Road Safety Day, with the slogan "Road Safety is No Accident". Each year, worldwide, 1.2 million people are killed in traffic and 50 million are injured. It is for the first time that the consequences of road crashes have been brought to everybody's attention, worldwide.
Relatively speaking, most casualties occur in less developed countries. Just how large this problem is for public health can be read in the report entitled "World report on road traffic injury prevention" that will be published on that day in Paris.
Moreover, the problem is a growing one if we realize that the (motorized) mobility will grow especially rapidly in the developing countries. Relatively speaking, the increasing mobility makes a greater demand among pedestrians, cyclists, and mopedists. Many of these people cannot, and probably will never be able to afford to buy a motor vehicle such as a car. Each year, road safety costs these countries 1-2% of their Gross National Product. Each year, about $65 million is spent on the consequences of road crashes. This amount is 1.5 times greater than these countries receive in foreign aid.
It therefore comes as no surprise that the WHO and World Bank have sounded the alarm bell. There is, worldwide, an enormous profit to be made if we can make traffic safer. We can do it! Proven methods from the more developed countries have shown that the number of deaths can 'easily' be reduced. Measures such as speed limits, alcohol prohibition in traffic, seatbelt and crash helmet obligations, pedestrian provisions, and intensive enforcement can reduce the number of injury crashes considerably.
The report entitled "World report on road traffic injury prevention" concludes that a greater road safety requires an integral approach. Improved roads and vehicle, specific and constant enforcement, planning of traffic flows, and a good health care system should all be aimed at preventing (severe) crash injury. In this, the health care plays an important role; not only in the recovery process, but also as information source for data and by advising vehicle safety. These aspects are mentioned in (simultaneously on 7th April), an other WHO Europe report entitled "Preventing road traffic injury: a public health perspective for Europe". In this report, the WHO appeals for including road safety as one of the 'spearheads' of health care, and emphasizes the importance of ambitious targets for Europe. In the meantime, the European Union has aimed to reduce the number of road deaths by 50% in 2010. To achieve this goal, more measures are necessary and have to be implemented faster than was the case during the past few years.
Both reports show the Netherlands can make a significant contribution to fighting this problem. The Netherlands, together with the United Kingdom and Sweden, are the safest countries in Europe and in the whole world. What makes these countries so successful in their approach was the subject of a study that was conducted by SWOV, TRL (UK), and VTI (Sweden), was completed last year; and was entitled SUNflower. The analysis of the road safety policies pursued in these countries shows that their high ranking is due to a number of factors:
- a clear strategy, preferably linked to a target
- unconditional commitment of the political top
- patience to persist in implementation for many years
- sufficient financial means, and
- an adequate implementation organization in which various regional and local governments, together with social partners participate.
With all its knowledge, the Netherlands can function as guide country to distribute its proven formula to countries that wrestle even more with their road safety approach. The Sustainably-Safe vision that was thought of in the Netherlands is one of the examples that the WHO refers to in its report. The WHO concludes that it is unacceptable that, even in Europe, 127,000 are killed and 2.4 million injured each year, even though we know how to prevent these casualties with effective policy. The investments required to achieve this are nothing compared to the costs of the consequences (in Europe 2% of the Gross National Product).
Does the Minister of Health and his international colleagues realise that the health car problems can be smaller if less people had to be treated for a road crash injury? An integral approach is a double-edged sword. The tide also seems to have turned in the Netherlands, because since early 2000, the number of casualties is not decreasing as quickly as we were used to in the 1990s. The investments in road safety are socially profitable, even in a period that is not so healthy economically. Many road crashes are 'avoidable'.
There is, therefore, no reason to be satisfied with our high ranking. Even less so, seeing as there are still sufficient improvements possible, as shown in the SUNflower report. The Netherlands should ask itself why, in comparison with the United Kingdom and Sweden:
- mopedists in the Netherlands have a higher crash rate. A Dutch mopedist has a twice as large death rate as a Swedish or British mopedist. Do we dare to take measures that especially saves the lives of the young?
- the road safety effect of drink driving in the Netherlands is greater. Does the punishment fit the crime?
- the percentage seatbelt wearers (87% in front and 63% in the back) in the Netherlands is lower than that in Sweden (90% resp. 80%) and the United Kingdom (90% resp. 65%).
- the Netherlands roads are less safe than those in Sweden and the United Kingdom. The motorways in the United Kingdom are 10% safer.
The current Minister of Transport has recently proposed a number of measures, showing she takes these points seriously. But we can do a lot more as is shown in the SWOV report 'Into a higher gear'. In this, the most important results of the SUNflower report have been brought together and aimed at the specific Netherlands circumstances. The subject of road safety deserves a place in the social discussion about safety in our society. The social costs justify this and require a joint approach of all ministries involved, regional governments, and public and private organizations. The Ministry of Transport should fulfil a leading role from which vision and innovation speak. The investments should also be continued so that the implementation of the policy can continue steadily. Greater cooperation and a good division of tasks of all organizations responsible for road safety ensure an efficient policy implementation.
If we succeed in making traffic safer worldwide, we save more than human lives alone. We burden the health care less, as well as the environment and economic reserves. This requires vision, leadership, and effort from many sectors in our society, because safety is no accident.
Some social costs of mobility in a row:
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World report on road traffic injury prevention, Peden M et al: the report can be found on www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/unitentional_injuries/World_Report_on_Road_Traffic_Injury_Prevention/en
Preventing Road Traffic Injury: A public health perspective for Europe, Racioppi F et al: the report can be found on www.euro.who.int/eprise/main/WHO/Progs/whd4
SUNflower: a comparative study of the development of road safety in Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands: the report can be found on the SWOV website under Publications
Zeilen bijzetten, R-2004-3: the report can be found on the SWOV website under Publications